Jumbo - Holdsworth Loop, Tararua FP, Aug 2020

 

With only a day spare and in need of some exercise I left Holdsworth carpark at 6:00am, heading for Jumbo via Atiwhakatu.  If the weather is reasonable, and not to much snow I'm aiming for McGregor Biv for lunch.

I packed my head-torch away around 7:00am as it stayed fairly dark in the bush, arriving at Atiwhakatu Hut at 7:20.  The fire was going and the hut full of sleeping trampers, though I did run into Jeff Ryan an old biker mate trying to find some dry firewood.  

Atiwhakatu Hut

By 7:30am I was heading up the Raingauge Spur Track toward Jumbo.  It was still to early to see how the weather was higher up.

At about 900m we came across the first snow of the day.  I had carried an ice axe as the range had been clagged in with bad weather for a few days and I wasn't sure what to expect higher up. 

Charlie

Breaking out of the bush things were looking promising although I couldn't yet see properly to the west other than the high cloud that was visible above.

The walk up Raingauge seems to have gotten quicker over the years as DoC has developed the track from the 'route' it was when I was a teenager.

By the time I got to the hut the NW wind was fairly strong and there was solid cloud coming over the tops at a reasonable pace.  Luckily for me a bloke in the hut was offering hot coffee so I spent a good half hour yarning about Tararua trips and various little known (unmapped) huts.  I was able to pinpoint Jacs (Waiohine) and Joe Gibbs (Tauherenikau) bivy's for him. The chap knew his way around, and was contemplating McGregor Biv for a night as he'd been unable to complete a Tararua crossing.

I decided to make my mind up on the days route at the top of Jumbo.

Jumbo Hut

View NE.

At the top of Jumbo it was clear that a walk over to McGregor for lunch was going to be a battle in the elements and really not a great way to spend three or four hours.  My fingers were already completely numb.  Charlie would have been happy either way. 

We didn't waste any time in turning south along the ridge toward Mt Holdsworth.  The wind was 25-35km from the NW so not overly cold, but it wasn't the most pleasant of days for a tops trip. 

View south to north over main range

I passed a group of five who had departed Jumbo before I arrived, and were heading for the East Holdsworth Track.  Other then this group I was on my own across to Powell.

It didn't take long for Charlie and I to get along to the Mt Holdsworth trig (1,470m).   A benefit of travelling alone is no negotiating pace-setting or rest stops.  Charlie just fits in to my pace although she covers three times the distance.

The track quickly looses height and turns slightly to the east.  Once out of the wind and a little lower I had great views over Wairarapa.  It's not much of a hike down to Powell Hut from the trig although managing some hard ice near the top in rubber boots was slow going for a bit.

Finally, a lunch stop at Powell Hut (at 1,220m) before the quick drop down to the carpark and home by 1:00pm.

Approximate times:

To Atiwhakatu        1hr 20min

To Jumbo                1hr 15min

To Powell                1hr 45min

To carpark               1hr 20min